Talensi animal sacrifice and its archaeological implications

The sacrifice of animals in various types of shrines is a major component of Talensi ritual practice and religious belief. The scale of sacrifice would suggest significant faunal remains might be expected archaeologically. In reality they are infrequent in comparison to other categories of material and almost wholly absent from shrine contexts. The potential reasoning behind this absence is explored in relation to the mechanics of sacrifice and the division of sacrificial animals in particular. This would suggest that sacrifice could have been as important in the past as it is in the present, even if as a practice it is archaeologically negative.